Minnesota Statutes 634.35 – Videotapes of Child Victims; Conditions of Disclosure
(a) If a videotaped interview of a child victim of physical or sexual abuse is disclosed by a prosecuting attorney to a defendant or the defendant’s attorney, the following applies:
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 634.35
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
(1) no more than two copies of the tape or any portion of the tape may be made by the defendant or the defendant’s attorney, investigator, expert, or any other representative or agent of the defendant;
(2) the tapes may not be used for any purpose other than to prepare for the defense in the criminal action against the defendant;
(3) the tapes may not be publicly exhibited, shown, displayed, used for educational, research, or demonstrative purposes, or used in any other fashion, except in judicial proceedings in the criminal action against the defendant;
(4) the tapes may be viewed only by the defendant, the defendant’s attorney, and the attorney’s employees, investigators, and experts;
(5) no transcript of the tapes, nor the substance of any portion of the tapes, may be divulged to any person not authorized to view the tapes;
(6) no person may be granted access to the tapes, any transcription of the tapes, or the substance of any portion of the tapes unless the person has first signed a written agreement that the person is aware of this statute and acknowledges that the person is subject to the court’s contempt powers for any violation of it; and
(7) upon final disposition of the criminal case against the defendant, the tapes and any transcripts of the tapes must be returned to the prosecuting attorney.
(b) The court may hold a person who violates this section in contempt.